New Examiner Article

Hey blog world i've got a new article on the examiner so check it out. We had a lot of fun the other night, click to see why. http://www.examiner.com/beer-pairing-in-arlington/american-craft-beer-week-dinner

Blue Cheese Burger with Tart Cherry BBQ sauce

To read about a wonderful beer paring follow the link to the examiner website

ROASTED ONION BURGER

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 ounces 93/7 ground beef

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp worchestershire

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

 4 slices roasted or grilled sweet onions

2 slices blue chesse or smoked cheddar

2 pieces natures own deli thins

Mix everything together and form into 2 patties. Put in the refrigerator while the onions roast

To roast onions you will need 1 onion sliced into 1-inch slices. Heat oven to 425 and brush a baking sheet with olive oil, then brush the topside of the onion and season with salt and pepper put in the oven for about 20 to 25 min. they should be soft and caramelized on the pan side.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO “fries”

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

2 sprigs thyme

1 clove garlic

Heat oven to 425.

Cut the potatoes into desired shape and put in a bowl. Mince the garlic and thyme together and put in bowl toss together with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Lay out on a baking tray and bake about 20 to 25 min (you can bake at the same time as the onions on the same tray).

Cherry BBQ sauce

Yields: 1 cup

Ingredients:

3 strips bacon (diced)

½ Onion (diced)

1 clove garlic (chopped)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp smoked paprika

¼ cup sorghum or molasses

1 cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup ketchup

½ ounce dark chocolate

Directions:

Heat a heavy saucepot to medium high and add the bacon, cook until bacon starts to brown and the fat is rendered out. Add the onions and garlic, cook until they start to brown, add the spiced and sorghum and cook about 1 to 2 minutes to allow the flavor to develop. Add the vinegar and cook down to ½ cup and add the ketchup cook about 10 minutes. Put in a blender with chocolate and blend till smooth. You can strain it through a fine sieve or leave it chunky. I prefer to strain it.

New Venture

Hey everyone,

         I have a new gig, I have started writing for an online publication called the Examiner. I could use a little support and in return the recipes will be plentiful. I am required to write at least 3 times per week and the more I write the better it is for me. I will be posting the recipes on the blog to increase traffic, in addition the article's link will be posted on the recipe blog. My aim is to educate people on food and beer pairings. The version of Examiner I am writing for is localized (Arlington, VA), but that doesn't mean that everyone can't learn and reap the benefits of some tasty dishes. Here is the link for the first article. I did not include it in the last post because I wasn't officially live at the time. Thanks in advance for your support.

John

http://www.examiner.com/beer-pairing-in-arlington/john-leonardis

Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom cream ale steamed clams

         This is a sure fire crowd pleaser, it takes 10 minutes of cooking time, pair that with crispy bread and a cold, crisp Orange Blossom Cream ale and you will be fighting your guest off with the baguette. Obviously orange and clams go well together. The clams are sweet and tender (when cooked right) and any citrus goes well with shellfish so why not use a cooking liquid full of orange and floral notes to cook these tender morsels. Add a little ginger and tarragon and you have yourself an aromatic "party in your mouth". So take some time this week and cook up a bowl of these and see what I mean.

Steamed clams
Serves: 2
Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 pounds cherry stone clams or Prince Edward Island mussels
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tbsp ginger (grated)
2 sprigs tarragon (chopped)
1 shallot  (minced)
1/2 bottle of Buffalo Bills Brewery Orange Blossom Cream ale
1 tbsp butter
4 slices rustic bread (toasted)

Directions:
Heat a large saute pan (equipped with a tight fitting lid) to a high heat, add the oil and allow to warm, this will happen quickly. Add the shallot, garlic, and ginger, saute for a couple of minutes just until they start to form color. now add the clams or mussels, saute until the pan recovers and becomes very hot again. (this step is important because if you put beer in a cold pan the there will be no steam and you need steam to open the shellfish). as soon as you add the beer place the lid on the pan to capture the steam. now pour the other half of the beer into a glass and wait roughly ten minutes or until the clams open. Now, wasn't that good? Once the clams open remove the lid and add the butter to let reduce for 3 to 4 minutes on high heat. Place the clams in a bowl with a slotted spoon then  add the tarragon and season the broth, pour the broth over the clams, straight from the pan. Serve with the toasted rustic bread.



*important note mussels open twice as fast as the clams in roughly 5 minutes.

CookRunBeer: West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2

CookRunBeer: West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2: "the overlook at coopers rock Well, once again it was time to head to West Virginia, duty called. My little sis needed a ride hom..."

West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful part 2

the overlook at coopers rock

    

 Well, once again it was time to head to West Virginia, duty called. My little sis needed a ride home from college. So I headed out about 4 am on Tuesday morning. I was headed for Coopers Rock State Park, which is on the way to West Virginia Wesleyan college where my sister was waiting. I only had about 2 hours sleep so I decided to stop at a rest stop and sleep for about an hour. I quickly found out that I stopped 1 exit from the park. The regret subsided shortly after I began running. Last time I ran here I brought my phone to take pictures, I decided to leave it this time due to the fact that last time photography slowed my run down considerably, equalling less distance covered and less of the park enjoyed. This is a decision that I would and still do, and may always regret not bringing it.

Cheat River

         I arrived at the parking lot so tired it felt like my face was swollen and like I just got punched. So I did what any respectable trail runner would do,  got dressed, filled my fuel belt and headed onto the XC ski trail. My plan was to head to Clay Furnace and link up to Scotts Run to create a loop and see where that gets me. I was feeling very stiff and sluggish, but i pressed on. Once I got onto the Clay Furnace trail this feeling went away. At this point I am kicking fast on this 2 mile down hill. The trail had nice flow while being rocky and technical(maybe that is where I preform better on rocky and technical, probably because I learned how to run trails in Little ROCK). Now for the camera regret, here I am kicking hard and fast with extreme concentration I was hitting 7 to 7:21 minute miles, then BOOM, my brain kicked in with a thought, STOP, Quickly following with JUMP UP AND BACK. I abruptly did so and figured out why my brain put me in this stressful contortion. What I found in front of me was a sun bather, not a nude human being stretched out on the trail, more of the dangerous venomous type of sun bather. Respectfully I backed up slowly to drink in what was placed in front of me. I was faced with a beautiful four and a half foot timber rattlesnake. Luckily the snake allowed me to get closer and have a look. I have never seen a rattlesnake up close in the wild. Needless to say I was very excited, promptly followed by a sad feeling. Of course I did not bring my phone, then oh sh%*, what if.... I don't want to think about that 2 mile uphill hike back to the car with a rattlesnake bite. Thankfully this was not the case. After a 15 or 20 minute stand off he let me by, but not without letting me know that he was still there and he is the boss. He slithered up 2 feet off the trail and turned around to face me in a slightly defensive position.

      The rest of the run was more alert than normal but awesome. I had no specific direction in which I was traveling, I went for the steepest trails, they usually bring you to the best parts of a park. I descended down to Cheat Lake, then climbed back up and then farther about 1500 feet over 2 1/2 miles. I ended up making a lollipop with a big loop on the end of the stick. Included in the run were; overlooks, small waterfalls, lakes, grueling climbs, fast flowing downhills, rattlesnakes, and vibrant green foliage, All in two and a half hours. What a day! After aiding my sick sister with moving her into a storage unit I rewarded my self with some good brews from Mountain State Brewing Company, Magic Hat, and Rogue and I pared that with what Allburgars restaurant called the sunny side up burger.

On our way home we stopped back at the park to take pictures at the overlook so I hope you enjoy the pics.